Anything Could Happen
by zarah joyce
Summary: A night for partying gives the team some unexpected results...


Anything Could Happen  
  
"This is so much fun!" Emma stated with a grin, as she raised her glass up to her lips and drank a hearty amount of white wine. She set it on the table with a loud clank. "This is so much fun!" she repeated.  
  
Brennan looked at Jesse and then shook his head.  
  
They were at a local bar, one that the team tried to visit as often as they could, or as often as there was no trouble or danger that they had to attend to. That night, for example, was the first in two weeks wherein they could enjoy a night of partying and drinking without worrying that a mutant was out there trying to conquer the world.  
  
Well, they don't have to worry until Adam contacted them and tell them otherwise. And each of them was praying that that won't happen. At least, not that night. Not when they were trying to relax and, just for one night, forget that they were mutants and that they were heroes that save the world every once in a while.  
  
"She's really out of it, isn't she?" Shalimar said. She stretched her arm and inwardly winced as a stinging pain shot through her spine. She had an unfortunate accident the other day, one that resulted to her having a gun shot wound on her right arm. She wasn't particularly looking forward to a night of partying, but she thought it was better than having to stay at the sanctuary alone.  
  
"Emma?" Jesse said as he tried to take the glass away from her fingers. "Are you okay?"  
  
She just tightened her hold on the glass and moved it away from his reach. "I'm fine!" she said with a laugh. "This is so much fun!"  
  
Shalimar nudged Brennan with her undamaged arm. "If she says 'this is so much fun' again, I'll deck her." She threatened. She took a small sip of her Bloody Mary.  
  
Brennan swung his arm around her shoulders. "Relax, Shal," he said as he motioned at Emma with the beer on his other hand. "She's just letting loose. Let her have her fun." He looked around him, happy to be in this club. This is the therapy that works for him, drinking and partying with his friends after an exciting fight with GSA agents, many of which he had successfully beaten up.  
  
"She's not just letting loose, Brennan, she's already drunk." Jesse stated as he watched Emma place her head on the table. "How many bottles did she have, anyway?"  
  
"Maybe two," Brennan answered after he drank from his beer bottle. "Or three. She drank it so fast, I lost count."  
  
Jesse shook his head. "I never knew anyone could get drunk with white wine."  
  
Brennan patted his shoulder. "That's education for you tonight, my friend." He grinned. "My, the things we learn when we party. We should do this more often."  
  
Shalimar took a closer look at her Emma. "She doesn't look good." She observed. She noted her friend's very pale complexion. "Maybe we should take her home."  
  
"Are you sure you're not just using Emma's drunkenness as a scapegoat for you to go home as well?" Brennan asked her pointedly. He was aware of her reluctance to go to the club. Well, actually, he was aware of the frown that she was wearing all night long.  
  
She glared at him, but it was difficult to do since he kept disappearing behind the flickering lights of the disco. "Well excuse me for having a gunshot wound on my arm and wanting to go home and rest." She said loudly.  
  
"Well excuse us for wanting to have fun tonight instead of resting our asses away." Brennan stopped talking abruptly as he realized what he just said, and he set his bottle on the table beside Emma's head. "Shal," he said with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. It's just that-"  
  
"Save it." Shalimar said hastily. She drank what's left of her drink, stood up and grabbed her glass. "I'm going for another round. What about you, Jesse?"  
  
Jesse pointed at his beer. "Still full." He said. "But thanks."  
  
"Emma?" Shalimar asked her.  
  
"I'm okay!" she lifted her head from the table and threw a drunken smile at Shalimar. "This is so-"  
  
"I'm gone."  
  
Brennan watched her move away. He took a big gulp of his beer and then set it on the table. "I'm such an ass," he told himself.  
  
"You got that right," Jesse retorted as he grabbed his beer and took a sip. "Haven't you learned? Never mess with a feral when she's wounded."  
  
"I know that. It's just that. It's the beer talking in me," Brennan pointed at his bottle to illustrate his point. "I think I'm already drunk."  
  
"No you're not," Jesse told him.  
  
"How can you be so sure?"  
  
"Because you've only had two bottles. And no drunken man would ever admit that he's already drunk." Jesse said with a knowing grin.  
  
"Yeah," Emma said. "You're not drunk." She lifted her head, tried to focus on Brennan and then giggled. "I'm not drunk either. And you're not drunk. And so am I."  
  
Jesse shrugged. "See what I mean?"  
  
Brennan just smiled, and then turned to look at the bar behind him. "I don't see her anywhere," he said to Jesse.  
  
"See who?"  
  
"Shalimar." He looked at his two friends and frowned. "Didn't she say that she was going for another round?"  
  
"She did." Jesse moved to get a clearer view of the bar. All he could see, above the grinding bodies on the dance floor, was a bar with three bartenders and a couple of people who were sitting there. He couldn't see any blond or any trace of his friend. "Maybe she's just at the ladies room."  
  
"Or maybe someone tried to pick her up." Emma contributed as she lifted her head again. "You know, not pick her up from the floor, since she's not drunk or anything. Just pick her up." She reached for her glass, but Jesse moved it away from her. "Hey! That's my glass!" she protested.  
  
He moved it farther from her reach. "No more, Em. You're drunk. If you have another bottle, you'll throw up all over the place."  
  
She crinkled her nose at him. "Says who?"  
  
"Says me."  
  
Brennan barely heard his friends' banter as he digested what Emma just said. Maybe someone did try to pick her up. It was okay, he thought. It was normal. What guy in his right mind won't try to flirt with a woman as beautiful as Shalimar? Maybe she's just somewhere talking to another person. Or maybe she's in the ladies room, like what Jesse said. Or maybe-  
  
"If you're not drinking this then I am." He was snapped out of his thoughts when Emma grabbed the bottle from his hands.  
  
"No you're not!" Jesse reached for the bottle from Emma. She moved it behind her so he won't get hold of it. "Hey, Emma! Give me that bottle!"  
  
"No way! This is mine! You took my bottle before!"  
  
"Guys, I think I'm gonna go get me some more beer," Brennan said to no one in particular as he slid out of the booth.  
  
"Grab me one too!" Emma said from behind him. "Ah! Jesse!"  
  
Brennan shook his head and then tried to move his way towards the bar. He stopped a couple of times because several women tried to ask him for a dance. Some even asked for more. "Wanna have fun tonight?" A redhead asked, her green eyes casting it's seductive spell on him. He just smiled at her and moved away.  
  
"Hey, gorgeous. Dance with me?" A tall woman with wild blue streaks across her blonde hair said to him, as she placed her hands on his broad chest and winked.  
  
He moved her hands away from him. "No thanks."  
  
She yanked her hands from his hold. "Spoilsport." She then moved on to another unsuspecting guy across the dance floor.  
  
Brennan shook his head again, and proceeded to look for Shalimar. Suddenly he yelped when he felt someone pinch his ass. "Hey!" he exclaimed as he turned around. His eyes widened when he saw a small guy wink at him.  
  
"Ooh, tall, dark and handsome. My type of guy," he said as he raised his rum and jiggled the wine inside the glass.  
  
Brennan felt the urge to blast the tiny gay man away, but he fought it. "Sir," he said as politely as he could. "I'm not gay, okay?" He then moved as fast as his feet could take him.  
  
He was half a foot from the bar when someone tapped him at the shoulder. He turned around, expecting to see the gay man again, when suddenly he yelled as cool beer cascaded down his shirt. "Hey!" he exclaimed, annoyed at having his shirt wet and smelling like liquor. "Watch it!" he snapped.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry." A brunette told him, her green black-mascara streaked eyes wide with apology. Suddenly her eyes shifted and became darker, more suggestive. "Maybe I should. lick it up?"  
  
Brennan was about to say something when another one spoke for him.  
  
"Maybe you should find somebody else to lick."  
  
He looked at his side to find Shalimar glaring at the brunette, her hands on her hips. He smiled at her, very grateful at her interference.  
  
The brunette glanced idly at Shalimar. "Who are you, the girlfriend?" she asked.  
  
This time, before Shalimar spoke, Brennan did it for her. "Actually, she is with me." He took her hand and began to lead her away when Shalimar yanked her hand away from his. He looked at her questioningly, then suddenly laughed out loud when he saw her take the beer from the brunette and spill it all over her silk blouse.  
  
"There!" Shalimar said as she returned the now empty bottle to the other woman. "Now you can find someone to lick that up!"  
  
The shocked brunette was still for a few seconds as she stared at the big wet stain on her blouse, before she gave a long, howling shriek that made a lot of other people stare at her way. "How dare you! How dare you! You bit- "  
  
The two immediately blended with the crowd to get away from the brunette's fury. Brennan stopped suddenly at the middle of the dance floor, with Shalimar in tow, because with a lot of people surrounding them, it'll take time before the brunette can manage to get her hold on them. He turned towards her, his face serious. "Thanks," he said sincerely, and as loudly as the music can let him. "And sorry, too."  
  
She shook her head, her golden tresses swaying wildly. "It's nothing." Shalimar said. "I should've been more considerate. I shouldn't think of only myself. We all deserve a good time. Especially after a long, hard week. Especially you, since you've managed to defeat a lot of GSA freaks."  
  
"Wrong. It's you who deserves a good time, especially since you're the one with the wound. And, no. I shouldn't have been that blunt. I should've been more sensitive to-"  
  
"You're drunk, aren't you?" She teased.  
  
He looked down on his feet when he realized that he was already blabbering. "I've been saying that before but no one was listening."  
  
"Well," Shalimar said with a big smile. "To be honest, I did have fun spilling beer all over your admirer's blouse."  
  
Brennan only laughed at that. "I had fun watching you do it, too."  
  
"And, I did have fun watching you turn down all those girls. and particularly that one guy." She added with a sly grin.  
  
His eyes widened. "You saw that?"  
  
"What, the butt pinching?" She chuckled. "I laughed out loud. It's a wonder you didn't hear me."  
  
Brennan looked at her carefully. "Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you just stood there and watched while I was viciously and repeatedly attacked?"  
  
"I figured you could do it on your own." Shalimar said, and then amended when she saw the hurt expression that crossed his face. "Well, I did help you out with the last one, right?"  
  
"Fine." He took a step towards her. Suddenly he realized where they were. "You know, we are at a dance floor." he began suggestively.  
  
She raised her eyebrows. "So.?" she asked innocently.  
  
He held his hand out for her. "Would you give me the honor of having you as my dance partner?"  
  
She took his hand. "Sure." She said with a smile, which he returned with one of his own.  
  
They proceeded to dance wildly, their steps accompanied by Shalimar's chuckles and Brennan's own laughter as well. The song was very lively, and pulsating, that they can hear the beat pounding on their chests and on their bodies. Brennan grinned as he twirled Shalimar twice, and then pulled her towards him and dipped her low on the floor. He pulled her up and twirled her again.  
  
"You're very good at this," he commented at her, amazed at her grace and agility.  
  
"Only when I have an able partner," she replied, as she enjoyed his strength and speed.  
  
They grinned at each other and then went on to show each other their best dance moves. They were already on their third song when someone tapped Shalimar on the shoulder. "Jesse!" she exclaimed, surprised at his intrusion. "What-"  
  
"We have to go," Jesse said to them.  
  
"What? Why? Did Adam contact you?" Brennan asked, suddenly worried.  
  
"Was it a new mutant?"  
  
"Eckhart's men?"  
  
"No, it's. it's something worse." Jesse paused dramatically. He then pointed at Emma, and shook his head. "I think Emma's going to blow up."  
  
Brennan and Shalimar turned to look at Emma, who was sitting on their booth with her hand on her mouth. Her skin had gone extremely pale, and there were several empty beer bottles surrounding her, silent witnesses as to how many she had already consumed.  
  
"Damn," Brennan exclaimed. "I thought you were supposed to stop her from having more beer?"  
  
"I tried!" Jesse said exasperatedly. "But you don't know what that girl can do when she wants something. Especially when she's drunk."  
  
Brennan frowned as he looked around the dance floor. "Damn." He said again. "Just when we were beginning to have fun."  
  
"Come on, Brennan, we did have some fun." Shalimar chided him. "But we should attend to Emma first. I think she's really on her way to throw up."  
  
The three made their way to the table, and finally to the car, their night of partying and drinking already over before the strike of twelve.  
  
fin 


End file.
